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With This Ring (Young Justice SI) (Thread Fourteen)

I release the hellwraith Construct Lantern.

"You, guard them both, and don't kill anyone."

"Yes, Master."
The hellwraith was permanently destroyed by demon Nabu. The Construct-Lanterns Paul has are Dr. T.O. Morrow, a Saremite, the Reach Thralls, Demon Nabu, Gary, a Karrakanian Shipmaster, and the Hydra Heads.
 
Paul was already out of patience, and now he finds out his least favourite person in the universe is responsible for this mess? Heads are going to roll - and Smiley is probably going to get off scot free.
 
1st September 2013
15:04 GMT


I pull out my rune stone-. And it shines like a sparkler. High level ambient magic, constantly active. In fact… It's more than that. I didn't think Charles Andrews was powerful enough to make something like this using his own efforts, which… Means that he's made a deal. A deal with something powerful.
And we the audience know exactly who. Oh, this is going to be a spectacular display when the excrement hits the rotary cooling propeller. And OL will almost certainly be turning the air blue when he realises what's been happening.

"Madam, I would appreciate an explanation."

"I-I don't know who he is."
Or rather, who he used to be? I mean, it's not like most people casually learn the identities of supervillains, public or not

"His name is Roger-."

"Yeah, you said, I meant… Before you said it. Uh."
Yes, sounding like rather a weak excuse there.

"Put it this way. You are a party at the very least to kidnapping and false imprisonment, just based on what I've seen so far. You are already going to prison for a long time. However, I have some familiarity with Mister Andrews' social circle, and the only way I can see him creating a spell this powerful is by having a demon do the heavy lifting."
Which should say something about the company she's been keeping.

"So he sold his soul?"

"Probably not. Tell me, have any of your co-workers just… Not come back to work without an explanation? Did you maybe sign a contract when you started working here and maybe not read the details too closely?"

"He said it was-. Oh shit!"
Ah, there's the panic. It's amazing how rarely people read anything they sign off on, be it an employment contract or a end-user licence agreement.

"Oh shit indeed." She looks at me in horror as I grin. "Fascinating case in London a few decades ago. Stockbroker made a deal with a demon called Triskele. He got success in all his financial dealings, and she got his soul. Except the deal only lasted five years, didn't it? Then he got dragged off bodily to Hell… Unless he found some innocent soul -he used his own baby daughter- and gave them to Triskele instead. One baby, another five years. Do you think for a moment that your employer isn't someone who would happily sacrifice the rest of you?"
Easy there, OL. Last I looked, that was an Orange Ring, not a Yellow one. Though I suppose there's good reason that the Renegade makes such a good Corpsman.

"A-ah-! A-ah-!"

"Fortunately for you, I'm here to wipe your arse for you. Tell me what's going on."
I like to think she actually did wet herself there. A reasonable reaction for someone that afraid.

"And-? Ahgdhuh, ah, whoever he-? The thing-."

Ah, a little too much.
Yeah, dial it back a little there, OL.

"I've beaten every demon I've fought so far."

"He-. He was here, like this, when I started working here. He hasn't moved or said anything-. We have cameras!" She points upwards-. Ah, I see. "I never saw Charles do any magic or anything on him. I just-. I'm a nurse. I basically just make sure that he stays healthy."
Since he doesn't seem to be independently mobile, of course. If he were awake and has got any trace of the Medusa Masks' power, he would have scared their shit out until they let him go...

I check-. Catheter, colostomy bag…

"Does Mister Andrews need to do anything to make it safe for you to approach Mister Hayden?"
Just in case he's broadcasting random emotional stimuli.

"No? I mean, he didn't. Did-did he need to?"

Check the bed, check the floor, check the equipment…
No reason to assume he's boobytrapped or otherwise leaking power.

"I can't see anything binding a spell to this location, which means that crossing into the space probably wouldn't create a problem. However, I'll ask an actual magician to check you over before handing you off to the police. No drugs in these tubes?"

"I mean… Some paink-. Mild painkillers and anti-inflammatories. I'm not drugging him unconscious. He just-. Hasn't woken up."
I wonder if that happened when the mask was taken from him back then, or if it was when the Mask melted during the White Light event.

"Not.. seeing anything to monitor his brain activity."

"No?"
Not likely they've been exercising his muscles to prevent atrophy either. If Hayden wakes up anytime soon, he's gonna be effectively paralysed...

I nod. "I suppose you weren't trying to help him get better. Were there any visible injuries on him?"

"No. Some bruising around the cannulae… Nothing else."
For reference, those are the inserted needles for IV drips, among other uses.

"Hm." While there are a whole range of stimulants I could inject him with, I don't want to do anything too radical while he's under the influence of a powerful spell. And while he should be pretty powerless without the Medusa Mask, he started his criminal career before he made it. And he made it; he didn't find it or get given it. "Alright. Is Mister Andrews in today?"
Best not to move or wake him right now, then.

"Yeah, he-. He's down in Production."

I release Gary from my ring.

"You, guard them both, and don't kill anyone."
Ah, something spooky to keep her in line and other people out.

"Yes, Master."

"Is that a demon?"

"Ah… Not any more."
I like the implied threat in that line. 'I was bad-ass enough to enslave this scary thing' is a flex, even if it's not intentional.

"Then what is it?"

"It used to be a rot elemental. Now it's technically a minor avarice elemental."
Best not to consider just how that was accomplished, miss.

"What's the difference?"

"It won't eat your soul unless I specifically instruct it to. Excuse me."
And by the same extent, it will protect you until he tells it to stop.

I phase through the wall, drifting out of the building and over the car park, where my Construct Lanterns have corralled the employees. No Charles Andrews so far, but brainwashed thralls and giant lizard heads aren't really the best at conducting searches.

"Excuse me!"
Which means he's holed up inside, with who-knows-what magical defences prepared. Marvellous.

Everyone looks up.

"The first one to tell me where Charles Andrews is gets me telling the judge at their trial that they were cooperative."
And no lying, mind, he will know.

There's a brief delay, and a quick 'what's-everyone'else-doing' look around, and then almost as one they point towards… A laboratory with no one in it.

"If he's supposed to be in there, I can't see him."
Not a great indicator, given he's apparently been working with emotional magics. It's likely quite well-shielded.

An hairy overweight man shrugs. "That's where he went. Didn't see him when your… Things chased us all out."

Right. No reason why he'd just hide his hotel room.
At least the place isn't concealed the same way. I suppose he needs the workers to be able to access it, after all.

Ring, call local police.

Compliance.
"Here, Sarge, we got some sort of robot calling us, says some orange lantern bloke needs paddy wagons?'

And in I go, through the wall-

Warning! Spell Eater temperature increasing!
Likely Smiley's influence on full-blast, perhaps. Or a strong concealment spell.

-and into… A fairly standard series of chemistry workstations. I've seen drug labs, and this place isn't so different. Nothing sticks out as magical, and-.

The western wall shimmers, and a locked door appears.
Ah, there you go. Hidden bolt-hole.

Temperature stabilising.

Right. I'm all out of patience. I stride over to the door, form a crumbler gauntlet around my right fist and punch first the lock and then the hinges. The door falls… Looks like some stairs leading down to a basement.
I'd guess his Spell-Eater is a lot more efficient than the kids, or the spell weaker.

"…me my master! Orange Lantern's here, and I'm fucked! I know it! I-."

I transition down, form a construct gauntlet around Mister Andrews and gag the fool.
No point allowing him to try any voice-based magic, after all. If he's anything close to half as crafty as John, he could talk you to dying.

"You should thank me for that. Demons always screw you on desperate pacts."

"Mrhh!"
No need to translate that exclamation, certainly.

Which demons was he trying to-?

I look at his shrine.
Careful, now. There's bound to be some with visual traps.

And the crudely drawn yellow face in the centre.

Which looks back at me with a smile.
Caught red-handed, you smiling prat.

Let's hope the bastard abandons them to their fate in order to maintain his secrecy, so that there's no traps to catch OL out. Because that's a pretty damning piece of evidence for his existence. Or he could throw all his power into messing with OL in an attempt to deal with him before he continues to mess up the oh-so-precious status quo any worse...
 
Was Psycho Pirate a target of opportunity, or are his emotional connections related to the Heartland realm? I don't think anyone he encountered in past decades would have recognized such a connection, right?

What could have been the long term aim here? Perhaps Smiley is mimicking the light, and he just wanted to distract Paul, get him in a specific place at a specific time? Could it be nuke time, a nuke hidden by Scry wards? I guess if Smiley has a soul trap set up, he might get a piece of OL before he hops into a body, but is he likely to GET OL when dozens of others are dying at the same site?

And are nukes really his style?
 
Paul was already out of patience, and now he finds out his least favourite person in the universe is responsible for this mess? Heads are going to roll - and Smiley is probably going to get off scot free.
Boss Smiley specializes in getting off scot-free, comes from being effectively the embodiment of corrupt authority: He always has a golden parachute ready to take him safely away.

Given his thematic nature, there's a very real chance that getting off scot-free is literally one of Boss Smiley's powers.
 
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